Edinburgh parents directed to Covid test centres in England amid rush to get children checked for virus

A RUSH to get Covid checks on children with coughs and colds produced a surge in demand at local testing centres and led to parents being directed south of the border.

Parents said on social media that many children in Edinburgh were now off school with colds following the return to their desks nearly two weeks ago.

One mother said parents at Sighthill Primary School received a text message as they waited outside yesterday morning, telling them children should not go to school if they had a runny nose or other cold symptoms. And she claimed some nursery children were turned away at the door.

A city council spokeswoman said: “Our schools are following NHS Lothian guidance which advises that if a child is experiencing a blocked/runny nose, headache or sore throat but not any of the classic Covid-related symptoms, they should stay off school until their symptoms have resolved and they feel well again.”

Another mum said many parents had tried to book Covid tests as a precaution but been told the nearest available testing centre was Newcastle.

At her daily briefingyesterday Nicola Sturgeon said there had been “exceptional demand” for testing in Scotland over the weekend. Officials were still looking into the issues, but people in Scotland may have been “erroneously” directed to testing centres in England rather than the next available slot in Scotland, she said.

“We’ve had high demand. Anecdotally I think there is an element there of children who might have picked up colds and sniffles since they have been back to school coming forward for testing. We’ll be looking closely at the reasons and profile of that higher demand.

“The advice is if you have any of the symptoms of Covid you should come forward for testing and that applies for parents with children.”

But she said getting closer to winter, when more viruses were around, it may become more likely people have something else.

Scottish Conservative health spokesman Donald Cameron said: “It’s not right that some people are being sent on 100-mile round-trips and across the border for a Covid test.

“We’ve been hearing from constituents that testing sites are struggling to cope with demand and test results that should be delivered in 24 hours are taking several days.”

Liberal Democrat health spokesman and Edinburgh Western MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “The Health Secretary must get to the root of this problem urgently. We can’t afford for the system to fall down whenever demand increases.”

The First Minister also announced the Scottish Government was in the final stages of consulting with teachers and local authorities on a recommendation for the use of face coverings by staff and pupils in secondary schools when they are moving around in corridors and communal areas.

“Crowding and close contact in these areas is more likely and voices could be raised, resulting in greater potential for aerosol transmission,” she said. It would not generally apply to classrooms.

The move comes after James Gillespie’s High School told pupils as of yesterday to wear face coverings while moving around the school. The policy was said to have been prompted by concerns voiced by pupils, parents and staff.

And the World Health Organisation issued new advice that children over the age of 12 should wear a face covering in areas where physical distancing is not possible.

Asked whether schools would have a supply of masks for those pupils who attend without one and what enforcement action might be taken, the First Minister said both were issues the consultation was focusing on.

There will be exemptions for children who may have a medical reason for not wearing a face covering.

The EIS teaching union welcomed the move but said it believed physical distancing remained the best means of reducing the risk of spread in schools. It said it was continuing to press for more staff and smaller classes.

EIS Edinburgh secretary Alison Murphy said since schools went back she had been contacted by teachers talking about how vulnerable they felt and their concern for pupils too.

“One made the point that a group of teenagers outside in the park will be moved on if they are congregating in large numbers, but those same numbers inside a classroom are considered not a problem.”

The mother of a pupil at one Edinburgh high school said her son wore a face mask and she wanted it to be mandatory across the city.

“He wears a covering because they are not socially distancing in school and he is worried about catching Covid and bringing it home to the family, where both my husband and I have long-term illnesses which make us extremely vulnerable to Covid.

“He also wants to be responsible and guard against possible transmission to his teachers, to his older relatives and older people in the wider community. I think his attitude is to be commended and you can see how that would be an issue of real concern to him as a young teenager.

“The council and the schools should be doing all they can to protect young people like him and their extended families.”

The GMB union today called on the Scottish Government to bring forward a Covid testing regime for every school across Scotland after a survey of its members found that two-thirds of support staff in schools and nurseries do not feel safe at work. The union said staff should be able to access tests at work.